The suit makes the man. It's an old adage yet never more true than in the case of Iron Man, the comic book superhero who storms into theatres on May 2.

Dusted off for a techno-loving century, "Iron Man" the movie and its invincible Marvel avenger have had movie buffs buzzing for months. Director Jon Favreau first made news by casting 43-year-old Robert Downey Jr., not some teen dweeb, as zillionaire industrialist Tony Stark, an imperious, sarcastic, womanizing booze-hound who uses his genius to create weapons for the U.S. Army.

Greenlighting Downey Jr. raised the bar - and the hype - surrounding Favreau's take on the troubled, careless, complicated figure who builds an armoured suit and uses its technology to fight evil. But creating Iron Man's legendary suit also stoked techno geeks' imaginations.

"The suit is object of lust for a lot of people. So many fans are drawn to Iron Man because of it," says Phil Saunders, the freelance conceptual designer who helped create the Mark III suit for Favreau's new film.

Working with Stan Winston of Marvel Studios and Adi Granov, the comic book illustrator who revitalized the character in the graphic Marvel miniseries "Iron Man: Extremis," Saunders and team ultimately created a blazing big-screen superhero who could become 2008's box office king.

Heavy metal magic

A graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Saunders says the challenge of creating Iron Man's movie gear was daunting. "This entire film hinges on that suit," says Saunders. "If it didn't work effectively then the entire story would not fly."

First and foremost this souped-up metal marvel had to work within a three-dimensional realm. "It had to suspend the audience's disbelief," says Saunders. "Through its feel and appearance it had to make people believe that this suit really existed as a wearable aircraft."

These duds of destruction also had to be simple and iconic enough in design to be perceived as a separate superhuman character on screen. "You couldn't just put Tony Stark in a spandex space suit and have him fly," says Saunders. "The second Tony puts on that suit he has to become another being. That's why his machine-like suit had to feel like a complete organism. It had to have its own heroic character and a potent, athletic stance."

Complicating matters further was Favreau's insistence that older technology be used to make Iron Man more realistic.

"There's a lot of reliance these days, particularly in superhero movies, on computer generated effects. But often that leads to a disconnect with the audience," says Saunders. "That's why Jon wanted to rely as much as possible on mechanical effects and the old-fashioned man in a suit idea. It was a very conscious decision on his part."

The man in the iron mask

Ultimately the team's biggest hurdle lay in the creation of this superhero's helmet.

"It was the first thing we tackled and it's the one element we spent the most time on. It carries the character," says Saunders.

Through changes of camera angles and the strategic placement of light, however, nuanced emotions suddenly emerged.

"It was an interesting process of sculpting," says Saunders. "You know Robert Downey Jr. is in there somewhere but audiences can't see him. But when the camera is placed below the helmet accent the eyes could be accented to capture a soulful moment. We shot from above to create a more acute effect. We used lots of little tricks to maintain those heroic physical proportions and fool audiences into sensing Iron Man's emotions."

The wow moment

The first independently-funded feature from Marvel Studios, Saunders says, "There was a very clear awareness that this movie had to succeed."

After spending a year and a half on the film, seeing the final product on Downey Jr. was gratifying for Saunders - an artist whose previous credits include 2007's "Spider-Man 3." Yet Favreau's wow moment came earlier on.

"The second Jon saw the suit on a stuntman and did his camera tests he knew this movie was going to work," says Saunders.

Also, the war in Iraq and the trouble times we now live helped to make the "Iron Man" story relevant for modern audiences.

"We live in a morally ambiguous time. There's a lot of disillusionment and armed forces are being used all over the world," says Saunders. "I know the suit will fascinate many, many people. But Tony Stark's journey is just as important. He starts out as this amoral weapons producer. But he realizes there's an intrinsic morality in the existence of these weapons, and in using them."

As Saunders says, "That realization is the heart of Iron Man's story. It's about finding a balance between two extremes and using force in the world as a force for peace."